{"id":34950,"date":"2026-05-20T14:29:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T12:29:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/?post_type=news&#038;p=34950"},"modified":"2026-05-20T14:29:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T12:29:17","slug":"refugees-remain-in-sa-refugee-centre-as-support-efforts-continue-amid-safety-concerns","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/news\/refugees-remain-in-sa-refugee-centre-as-support-efforts-continue-amid-safety-concerns\/","title":{"rendered":"Refugees remain in SA refugee centre as support efforts continue amid safety concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The group spent the night outside the Diakonia Centre, where humanitarian organisations have been attempting to provide assistance. The Southern African Refugee Forum said efforts are ongoing to persuade those affected to return to their previous areas of residence.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Eric Jean Butoki, Chairperson of the Southern African Refugee Forum, said many individuals have refused to leave the area despite guidance from the organisation. Butoki said the situation is being complicated by economic hardship, with some unable to afford rent after losing income.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Butoki said a number of those gathered have not been working for several weeks, limiting ability to secure accommodation. Butoki added that discussions are underway with various organisations to mobilise support, including food and essential supplies.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The displacement follows tensions that led to the group leaving the Durban Central police station, raising concerns about the immediate welfare of those involved.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;SABC\/ChannelAfrica&#8211;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":34951,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[26],"class_list":["post-34950","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Dozens of foreign nationals remain gathered outside a refugee support centre in central Durban after being dispersed from a police station earlier in the week, as concerns grow over safety and living conditions.","published_date":"","news_description":"Dozens of foreign nationals remain gathered outside a refugee support centre in central Durban after being dispersed from a police station earlier in the week, as concerns grow over safety and living conditions.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/34950","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/34950\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34952,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/34950\/revisions\/34952"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=34950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}